Aircraft



' arch 26, 1935. s. oDABAsHmN AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 2, 1934- IN VEN TOR.

675 1 A TTORNEY Patented Mar. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE Application January 2,

4 Claims.

My invention relates to aircraft, and more particularly to lighter-than-air craft.

The broad object of my invention is to improve the stability of aircraft, such as dirigibles.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a dirigible construction in which the major portion of the surface envelope is free to rotate under the action of air currents flowing past the ship, so that the body of the craft is freed of influences tending to destroy its equilibrium.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following descrip- 0 tion of my invention. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this disclosure of species of my invention, as I may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a dirigible embodying the improvements of my invention.

Figure 2 is a detail transverse vertical sectional View, taken in planes along the lines 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the outer shell surface, showing the pocket construction.

In terms of broad inclusion, the aircraft embodying my invention comprises a frame, and an outer shell movably mounted on the frame and having pockets formed in its surface. The shell is preferably rotatably mounted, and the pockets are preferably arranged so that air currents from any direction operate to turn the shell only in one direction. The pockets are also preferably arranged to offer a minimum resistance to forward movement of the ship.

In greater detail, and referring particularly to Figure 1, the dirigible embodying my invention comprises a leading section 2, a trailing section 3 and an intermediate section 4. The end sections 2 and 3 are of ordinary dirigible construction, and carry the appendages of the ship, such as the cabins 6, propulsion units 7, stabilizer fins 8 and rudders 9.

The frame 11 of the ship is preferably along the lines of standard construction and extends longitudinally through the ship to rigidly connect the end sections 2 and 3. The outer covering over the framework of the end sections is preferably substantially smooth, and is preferably applied in accordance with present practice.

The outer shell of the intermediate section 4 however, which comprises the major portion of the dirigible envelope, is movably mounted on the frame; the purpose of this structure being to dissipate the forces of air currents directed against the ship's envelope. As best shown in Figure 2, the shell 12 is of rigid construction, and is rotatably mounted on the frame 11 by suit- 1934, Serial No. 704,816

able means, such as rollers 13 running on a circular track 14:. It is understood of course that this type of rotor mounting is merely for purposes of illustration.

The rotatable shell 12 is provided with a suitable covering 16, and is shaped so that the covering forms pockets in the surface of the shell. The pockets 1'7 are preferably rectangularly shaped with sloping bottoms. Note Figure 3. As shown in Figure l, the pockets are arranged in longitudinal rows, with the rows on one half portion of the section angularly disposed relative to rows on the other portion. As viewed in Figure 1, the rows of pockets on the leading and trailing halves of the section converge along the central portion of the section and slope down wardly toward the end edges.

This arrangement, together with the fact that the deepest portions of the pockets lie at the upper forward corners, provides a character of surface which will rotate in one direction only under the action of air currents flowing past the ship. Furthermore, the arrangement of the pockets with their bottoms all sloping rearwardly provides a surface which offers a minimum of resistance to the forward motion of the ship.

With my improved dirigible construction, in which the major portion of the surface envelope is free to rotate under the action of air currents, the stability of the ship is enhanced, since the body of the craft is largely freed of influences tending to destroy its equilibrium.

I claim:

1. An aircraft comprising a frame, and an outer shell forming the external envelope of the craft and mounted for free rotation on the frame, said shell having depressed areas to provide pockets.

2. An aircraft comprising a frame, and an outer shell forming the external envelope of the craft and movably mounted on the frame and having pockets depressed in the surface thereof, the pockets being deepest adjacent their forward portions.

3. An aircraft comprising a frame and an outer shell forming the external envelope of the craft and mounted for free rotation on the frame and having pockets depressed in the surface thereof, said pockets being deepest adjacent their forward portions and having sloping bottoms.

4. An aircraft comprising a frame, and an outer shell forming the external envelope of the craft and mounted for free rotation on the frame and having pockets depressed in the surface thereof, said pockets being deepest adjacent their forward portions and having bottoms sloping outwardly from said deepest portions to the surface of the shell.

SEROP ODABASl-IIAN. 

